Stories of exploitation continue to rise across the global fashion supply chain, with accounts of garment workers facing unsafe conditions, low wages, and denial of basic rights like sick leave or breaks. These aren’t isolated incidents, but symptoms of a deeply flawed system that too often prioritises profit over people.
Understandably, we might feel outraged when we hear about these injustices. Our first instinct might be to withdraw support entirely, and perhaps even jump on social media and call on others to boycott the brand.
These reactions come from a place of empathy and a desire for justice.
Choosing to boycott a brand can be a valid way to express your values, and it’s natural to think twice about a brand if some unethical behaviour is revealed. But if that’s where our action stops, we limit our impact.
True change comes when we pair our spending choices with speaking out, holding brands accountable, and demanding better for the people who make our clothes.
Do Boycotts Help or Hinder?
The global fashion industry employs tens of millions of people, many of them women, in countries where job opportunities are limited. For many garment workers, these roles are essential to their family’s survival.
In places like Bangladesh, millions rely on jobs in fashion manufacturing as their primary (yet still insufficient) source of income.
Often, it’s the lack of protections and accountability within supply chains that create unfair conditions for garment workers. If a lot of customers choose to turn away without demanding better safeguards or transparency, the outcome can be factory closures, job losses, or brands shifting production elsewhere without improving conditions.
Closing factories doesn’t resolve exploitation. It erases the visibility of the problem without addressing its root causes.
There are moments when a boycott can be an important tool, especially if a brand refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing or take meaningful steps to improve. Withholding your support in those cases can send a strong signal that unethical practices won’t be tolerated. But if a company is engaging, investigating, and working toward change, abandoning them too quickly can remove both the pressure and the incentive to improve.
But if a company is engaging, investigating, and working toward change, abandoning them too quickly can remove both the pressure and the incentive to improve.
The same goes for instances of state-sponsored oppression like Uzbekistan cotton or Uyghur forced labour in China. Clear and outspoken denouncement and avoidance of these practices is a much more powerful driver for change than patiently standing by.
The key is to think strategically about the impact of your actions, always keeping the workers’ wellbeing at the centre.
What We Need Is Systemic Change
The goal shouldn’t be to abandon the fashion industry, but to transform it. That means pushing for long-term, systemic reform. This includes fair wages, safe working environments, ethical sourcing, and platforms for workers to raise concerns without retaliation.
This work isn’t accomplished through silence or disengagement. It requires persistent, vocal, and informed advocacy.
From Consumers to Advocates
Sometimes brands that score in the top 20% in the Baptist World Aid Ethical Fashion Guide find themselves in the headlines too. This is why it’s important to remember that even brands with stronger safeguards can’t afford to be complacent.
There is still much work to be done across the industry. As consumers and advocates, we have a crucial role in pushing for continued progress.
Consumer pressure can lead to meaningful change. Companies are more likely to act when they know their customers are watching. Over the years, advocacy campaigns have led to brands to publish supplier lists, strengthen labour rights policies, and improve supply chain transparency.
We can speak out to the brand, share and discuss with our friends and family, or support legislation that sets standards for the protection of workers.
How to Use Your Voice
If you’re concerned about the rights of garment workers, the most impactful thing you can do is speak up. Encourage brands to investigate violations, engage in remediation, and build long-term solutions with their suppliers. And, when brands are doing well, encourage them to not rest on their laurels, but to keep testing and reviewing their procedures.
At Baptist World Aid, we believe in using our voices to champion the rights of garment workers and advocate for change. You can do this by using our Speak Out tool to contact brands and demand change.
The Path Forward
Whilst personal purchasing decisions matter, lasting change comes from collective action. Let’s use our influence not just to punish companies when they fall short, but to advocate for a more just fashion industry.
